The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 2: The Immortal Said My True Love is Someone Else

Upon hearing this, Jin Zijun said, “If she can’t marry, and her reputation is ruined, what about you? How will you live with your reputation tarnished?”

Xu Zhizhi sneered at the affectionate pair, Jin Zijun and Wang Shishi, and declared, “Today, let the villagers bear witness. Jin Zijun, in broad daylight, has been improper with Wang Shishi, humiliating and insulting me. Today, I, Xu Zhizhi, sever all ties with Jin Zijun! The engagement is off.”

Xu Zhizhi wished she could cut a piece of her robe to symbolize the break, as they did in martial arts dramas, but she didn’t have a knife. So, she could only leave it at that. After speaking, she turned and walked straight home.

She wanted nothing more to do with this pair.

Just then, Xu Zhizhi’s second uncle rushed over and said to her, “Jin Zijun is the only candidate scholar in our village. Once he passes the provincial exam, he’ll surely become a scholar. He has a bright future ahead. This marriage cannot be called off!”

“Uncle, a heartless person like him, even if he becomes successful, will only abandon his wife and children. What use is he to me?”

With that, Xu Zhizhi resolutely walked away.

Xu Zhizhi’s family consisted of two younger brothers. Her father was a carpenter who often traveled far to earn a living. Her mother stayed home to take care of the family. They owned some farmland, making them relatively well-off in Qili Village.

Unfortunately, Xu Zhizhi’s maternal family was extremely poor, so food from their home was often taken to support them, leaving the family frequently hungry.

Jin Zijun’s family was even worse off—his home was bare, and his mother was blind. They often came to Xu Zhizhi’s family for help, making their already poor situation even more dire.

Poverty was everywhere.

When Xu Zhizhi returned home, she saw the thatched-roof house. It was even poorer than she had imagined.

Thankfully, she had called off the engagement. Otherwise, she would have had to support Jin Zijun’s family, making life even harder.

“You wretched girl, where have you been? You didn’t even come back for dinner!”

As soon as she entered, Xu Zhizhi was met with her mother’s scolding.

Her two younger brothers were eating, barely glancing at her before continuing their meal. The relationship between the siblings wasn’t particularly harmonious.

With their mother taking food back to her maternal home, they were already struggling. Whatever was left, Xu Zhizhi would take to Jin Zijun, leaving almost nothing for the family.

The two brothers were thin and short from hunger, looking much younger than their age. So, when Xu Zhizhi returned, they didn’t bother to acknowledge her.

On the table were three bowls of wild vegetable porridge. Calling it porridge was generous—it was more like vegetable soup with a few grains of rice.

Looking at the meal, Xu Zhizhi lost her appetite. Even pig feed looked better than this!

Her second uncle had followed her home.

He grabbed Xu Zhizhi’s mother and said, “Zhizhi called off her engagement with Jin Zijun today.”

Xu Zhizhi’s mother was so shocked that she dropped her bowl of porridge, spilling it on the table. Thankfully, the bowl didn’t break.

Though frugal with her own family, Xu Zhizhi’s mother still cared for her daughter. She had tacitly allowed Xu Zhizhi to take food to Jin Zijun because he was handsome and a candidate scholar, soon to become a scholar-official.

Xu Zhizhi’s mother thought Jin Zijun was a catch, and this was a great marriage opportunity. If not for his family’s poverty, such a match would never have fallen into their lap.

Enraged, Xu Zhizhi’s mother grabbed her daughter’s clothes and shouted, “How could you give up such a good marriage? Did you really call it off?”

Xu Zhizhi was startled by her mother’s frantic behavior.

She nodded numbly.

“You foolish girl! Once a woman is engaged, her value drops by half. Who will marry you now? Where will you find a husband as good as Jin Zijun? We must go and apologize immediately. The adults haven’t spoken yet; a child’s words don’t count!”

Seeing Xu Zhizhi nod, her mother became even more hysterical.

She immediately forgot about dinner and tried to drag Xu Zhizhi to Jin Zijun’s house.

Xu Zhizhi shook off her mother’s hand and said, “Jin Zijun hasn’t even married me yet, and he’s already willing to hit and scold me for another woman. I don’t want to marry him.”

“It’s normal for men to have multiple wives and concubines. You would be the wife, and that Wang woman would only be a concubine. Jin Zijun is talented. It’s natural for other women to try to seduce him. Once you’re married, his heart will still be with you.”

Xu Zhizhi was speechless at this twisted logic.

Jin Zijun was just a candidate scholar, not even a full scholar yet.

If she were a man, she could start studying seriously now and might even pass the exams to become a scholar.

Xu Zhizhi felt that, having attended university in her past life, she couldn’t possibly be worse than Jin Zijun.

She said to her mother, “I won’t marry someone like him. I was blind before, but now I see clearly.”

“Zhizhi, you’re already seventeen. Look around—are there any girls your age in the area who aren’t married? Do you know that at your age, if you break off this engagement, you’ll never find anyone better than Jin Zijun?”

“That’s right, Zhizhi. Jin Zijun is also very handsome. You won’t find anyone better-looking within a hundred miles,” her second uncle chimed in.

Xu Zhizhi knew that in ancient times, men were valued over women. If a woman didn’t marry, no matter what she achieved, it wouldn’t matter.

She also knew her mother meant well.

But if staying with a scumbag like Jin Zijun was the alternative, she’d rather marry someone random off the street.

The original Xu Zhizhi had been driven to her death by Jin Zijun, and now she carried that grudge.

How could this matter be resolved peacefully?

Xu Zhizhi said to her mother, “Mother, last night I had a dream. An immortal told me that Jin Zijun is an ungrateful wolf who will repay kindness with betrayal. I didn’t believe it at first, but the immortal gave me some seeds and said they’re in our firewood shed. These seeds can yield a thousand pounds of food per acre!

The immortal also said that within a year, I’ll meet my true love.”

Xu Zhizhi knew that reasoning wouldn’t work. Only by invoking the divine would her family listen.

In her modern life, she had acquired a portable space), though she hadn’t fully understood it before she died. Inside, she had planted some seasonal vegetables and rare medicinal herbs.

In this era, sweet potatoes hadn’t been introduced yet, and rice yields were abysmally low, leaving most people hungry and poorly clothed.

“Is this true?” Xu Zhizhi’s mother asked, skeptical.

“Mother, let’s go to the firewood shed and see for ourselves.”

Hearing about the immortal, Xu Zhizhi’s two younger brothers also wanted to see.

Xu Zhizhi’s mother and second uncle followed her to the shed.

It was only a few steps away. The truth would be clear once they saw it.

Xu Zhizhi pushed open the door to the firewood shed.

Everyone followed her inside, and what they saw left them stunned.

(End of Chapter)